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Former Pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Francis to abandon the idea of ​​ordaining priests to married men. Getty Images

At the Vatican, the debate around the marriage of priests is revived. Only two months after the synod on the Amazon which recommended the ordination of married middle-aged men to make up for the lack of a priest in the region, Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah sign a book reaffirming the crucial importance of priestly celibacy .

With our Vatican correspondent , Arthur Herlin

" It is urgent that all the faithful, bishops and priests no longer allow themselves to be impressed by the bad pleas and the diabolical lies that want to devalue priestly celibacy ". It is with these words that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, explain their decision to break the silence.

Celibacy, a fundamental value

In a book dedicated to priests around the world, entitled From the Depths of our Heart , the two men reaffirm the fundamental value of priestly celibacy. A work already considered as an exhortation addressed to Pope Francis not to ordain married men as suggested in the final document of the synod on the Amazon .

The question of viri probati

The work, published on January 15, 2020, is the fruit of meetings between the two men during the synod while the issue of the ordination of viri probati , these married middle-aged men is debated. " The similarity of our concerns and the convergence of our conclusions decided us to put the fruit of our work and of our spiritual friendship at the disposal of all the faithful ". As if to get ahead of the critics, the pope emeritus and the cardinal assure him in conclusion: their approach was made in a spirit of love for the unity of the church.

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